Dom's Ascension (Mariani Crime Family Book 0)

by Amanda Washington

  Rosalie nodded and held out her arms to my son. “Come to Nonna, Angel.”

  He climbed down from his chair and jumped into her arms. She sprinkled his face with kisses and squeezed him. “I can’t believe how much you’ve grown since I last saw you. You must be eating your vegetables. Are you behaving for your mamma?”

  He nodded. “Yes, Nonna. I help Mamma.”

  “It isn’t Dom’s fault, is it?” I asked, alarmed by her sudden topic change.

  She frowned and smoothed Angel’s hair back from his forehead. “Not entirely, no.”

  “What does that mean?”

  She waited for the waitress to walk by before answering, “We’re all to blame for this one, I’m afraid. And for your safety I cannot tell you more than that, so please don’t ask.” She shifted in her seat, settling Angel on her knee. “Now tell me which preschools you’ve looked into for my grandson.”

  I wanted to drill her for information, but knew it wouldn’t do any good. Rosalie was a typical matriarch who would do everything necessary to protect her family. Whenever she pulled the “for your safety” card, the conversation was effectively over.

  Allowing her to lead me off topic for now, I asked, “Preschools? But he’s only two.”

  “The good ones fill up quickly, so it’s never too early to start looking. I know the woman who runs the Sunrise Montessori. I’ll give her a call and see if I can schedule a walk-through.”

  I thanked Rosalie. As frustrating as Dominico’s tight-lipped family was, I knew she loved us and would do anything she could to help. Angel would go to the best schools, and he’d never have to worry about college debt. Yet…

  “Rosalie, this family business that keeps my husband away all the time…”

  She eyed me.

  “Will Angel be forced to go into it as well?”

  I’d asked Dominico to quit a million times. We had everything we needed, and he could find a different job. A normal eight-to-five one. I could even go back to work if we had trouble making ends meet. But he assured me there was no quitting, calling his family job mandatory. My husband had clearly signed over his life to the mafia, and I needed to know my son wouldn’t have to do the same one day.

  Rosalie frowned and kissed Angel’s forehead. “What will be will be.”

  Not the answer I’d been hoping for. “But what if he doesn’t want to? Will he have a choice?”

  Her frown only deepened. “Dom will be leading the family by then, so Angel’s future will be up to him.”

  That made me feel a little better. “Okay. Dom wouldn’t force Angel to do something he doesn’t want to.”

  The look on Rosalie’s face told me she wasn’t as certain. “How are Mario and Adona doing? Has she gotten pregnant yet?”

  Another topic change. I filed my concerns away, silently promising to discuss Angel’s future with Dominico later. Whenever I actually got to see him again.

  We ate, and headed for the exit. Rosalie walked Angel and me to our car, but stopped me before I got in.

  “Annetta, Dom… This is a very difficult time for him. I never wanted this life for him, but he needs to do what he’s doing. It’s important. But he loves you very much and he’ll need you now more than ever. Be there for him.”

  I had been there for him. It was Dominico who kept disappearing. I tried not to let my irritation show, and nodded. “Thanks again for lunch.”

  In the days following my lunch with Rosalie, Dominico took up smoking again. Not in the house—it wasn’t like he stayed home long enough to get in a cigarette break—but I could smell it on his suits and found the evidence in his pockets. Knowing he was stressed, I bit my tongue and didn’t confront him about it.

  Two months passed, and Christmastime came. Since my husband was never available, I shopped for all the presents alone. Angel and I attended Mario and Adona’s annual party without Dominico, since he’d been called in to work, and I spent the evening warding off questions about his absence. I woke up beside him Christmas morning and was so ecstatic I climbed on top of him and started kissing my way down his body.

  Things were just starting to get interesting when his pager went off. He groaned.

  “Don’t answer it,” I said, attacking him with more kisses.

  “I have to.”

  The resolution in his voice told me he’d already made up his mind, but I tried anyway. “It’s Christmas, Dom. Can’t you spend Christmas with your family?”

  “Next Christmas,” he said, kissing my nose before he picked me up and set me aside. “We have a lifetime of Christmases together. This is just one. I have to do this.”

  Tears stung my eyes as hurt and anger warred within me. Who said next Christmas would be different? “Please stay.”

  “I can’t. I’m sorry.”

  “Why the hell not?” I asked, my cheeks burning with hot tears. I hated myself for being so upset, and hated him for making me cry on Christmas, but all the late night pages and missed time with him were suffocating me. This had to be more than the mob. There had to be something else going on…something he wasn’t telling me. “Is it another woman?”

  He shook his head, walking toward the closet.

  “Don’t turn your back on me, Dom! Tell me the truth. If there’s someone else, please just set me free.” Even as I said it, the idea that there could be a mistress crushed me. If I found out he was stepping out on me, we were done. I’d promised myself long ago I’d never stay with a cheater.

  “Are you really asking me this?” he said, buttoning up his shirt. “Net, I barely have time to sleep. How the hell would I squeeze in an affair?”

  “I don’t know. Maybe this whole thing is a lie. Maybe you’re heading to her now.”

  I grabbed his pager from the end table and tried to read the display. Dominico was on me before I could even focus on it. He ripped it out of my hands and put it in his pocket.

  “Don’t ever do that again,” he said.

  Stung by his actions as well as his tone, I stared at him.

  “It’s dangerous, Net. I will not allow you to put yourself and our son in danger. You understand?”

  How could I understand when he wouldn’t tell me anything? I blinked back more stupid tears and looked away.

  “I’m sorry, Net, but I’ve got to go.” He kissed me on the forehead and walked out of our room.

  I was so pissed I jumped out of bed and followed him down the stairs and to the front door. He put his hand on the doorknob and I called his name.

  “Net, I gotta go,” he said, not even bothering to look at me.

  “You walk out that door, don’t bother coming back,” I said.

  He let out a deep breath. “If that’s what you want…” He opened the door. “But at least you’ll still be alive.”

  Then he was gone, leaving me to wonder what the hell that cryptic statement meant. I sat down on the bottom stairs and bawled like a baby until Angel woke up and forced me to fake Christmas cheer. By the time Dominico came home that night, he looked like crap. He had a deep gash on his arm and he wouldn’t tell me what it was from. Regardless of his secrets, I still loved him more than my own breath and couldn’t turn him away. I doctored him up and passed out in his arms with miles still between us.

  ***

  In January, I made a resolution to seduce my husband into spending more time with me. I read all the current magazine articles on rekindling the fire, bought lingerie, started working out, and even went so far as to get a Brazilian wax, which hurt like nobody’s business. Every night I’d stay up waiting for him to come stumbling in, then I’d cue the romantic music, dim the lights, and strut out wearing sexy lingerie.

  It always worked…well, mostly. No matter how exhausted Dominico was, he’d attack me and carry me to our room. We’d make love then pass out, and when I woke up the next morning he’d be gone again. Eventually I got tired of putting in all that work and threw in the towel. Seducing him clearly wasn’t having the effect I’d expected.

&
nbsp; With February came Angel’s third birthday, and I turned my focus completely on our son, determined to give him the best birth month ever. We spent our days exploring every kid-friendly event and exhibit Vegas had to offer, from children’s museums to aquariums, to jousting tournaments. When we ran out of local attractions we expanded our fun to San Diego, hitting up Sea World, the zoo, and the beach. I didn’t want Dominico to worry about us, so I always left him a note, but it felt nice to be out living rather than at home waiting for him.

  We celebrated Angel’s birthday at the house, hoping Dominico would show. Rosalie kept watching the door, her expression worried, as I tried not to show my disappointment. Ten kids, their parents, Papa, Mario, Adona, and most of Dominico’s family were crowded into our house, yet Angel’s own father couldn’t bother to show up.

  “I’m sure he would be here if he could,” Rosalie assured me. “Patience is a remedy for every sorrow.”

  I wanted to tell her what she could do with her patience, but I had a party to run. I stuck the candles in Angel’s cake and sang as loudly as I could, willing my son not to notice his father’s absence. Unfortunately, it didn’t work. Over the next few weeks, Angel kept asking me where his father was and why he didn’t play with him anymore.

  A little over five months after Michael’s death, Angel and I were baking cookies together when he asked the question that finally did me in. “Mamma, does Daddy still love me?”

  The small ball of dough rolling between his fingers appeared to have his full attention, but I could tell Angel was waiting for me to answer. And I couldn’t, because I no longer knew Dominico’s heart.

  My own heart finally shattered. I’d been so busy questioning Dominico’s love for me that I hadn’t realized Angel was struggling with the same insecurity. I didn’t want that for my child. I’d tried to be understanding while my husband struggled through this difficult time, but I was done. Knowing a clean break would be easier on both Angel and me, I brought out our suitcases and had us packed and ready to go within the hour.

  I needed to leave Dom a note so he’d know we were okay, but finding the words was more difficult than I’d ever imagined. I jotted down the quickest explanation I could give and forced myself to walk away. It was the hardest thing I’d ever done.

  Telling Angel we were going on an adventure, I threw everything into the trunk of the car, stopped by Papa’s house long enough to let him know I was taking a vacation, and headed north. I didn’t know where we were going, but I knew we couldn’t stay in Vegas another minute.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  Dominico

  ANNETTA HAD FINALLY left me. The proof of it was in her own handwriting, lying on the coffee table, where she always left me notes when she and Angel were out.

  “I love you, but I can’t do this anymore. Good-bye.”

  That was it. She didn’t even sign her name. I must have read it a hundred times, looking for some hidden meaning, but it was pretty cut and dried. Finally finished with the task that had been keeping us apart, I’d come home only to find there was nobody to come home to. The irony of it was too much. I stretched out on the sofa, wondering what to do. I hadn’t been home at all in more than fifty hours, and they could be states away by now.

  The phone rang. Hoping it was my wife, I picked up.

  Mamma’s voice greeted me. “Annetta called to tell me she and Angel are okay.”

  I let out a breath of relief. “Did she say where they are?”

  “No. I tried to talk her into coming back, but she wouldn’t hear of it. She said she’ll call and check in again in a couple of days.”

  In a couple of days? I cleared my throat. “All right. We’ll set your phone up with a call tracker and find them.”

  Turned out we didn’t have to. The next day, Annetta’s father drank too much and slipped in the bathroom, hitting his head on the corner of the countertop. He died instantly. When Annetta called in and Mamma told her what had happened, Annetta had Mamma book her and Angel on the next flight home.

  Annetta didn’t want to see me, so Mamma picked them up from the airport and drove them to the funeral home where her father was being laid out. Although she’d made it clear she didn’t want me, I figured my wife would need me and sneaked in to be with her.

  “Why are you here?” she asked, not looking up from the open casket. Arms crossed and eyes red, she looked like she’d lost both weight and sleep since I’d last seen her.

  “Because I love you and I don’t want you to go through this alone.”

  Her gaze finally drifted up until it landed on me. Tears streamed down her face. “I should have been here. It’s March. It’s Mom’s…” She shook her head and her gaze went back to the coffin. “I’m so sorry, Papa. You needed me and I was gone.”

  Just like she’d needed me, while I’d been gone. I was here now, though, so I went to her and held her. She cried against my shoulder as sorrow and guilt wracked her body. When she finished, she let me lead her to my car and drive her home.

  “What do you need me to do?” I asked, settling her on the sofa. “Can I get you a glass of water?”

  “You can look me in the eye and promise me you didn’t have anything to do with his death.”

  Her answer stung me. “Of course I didn’t. Why would you even—”

  “Because I’m not stupid, Dom. I know what you do…what your family does. I’ve cleaned blood off your suits, bandaged your wounds, read the newspaper. Did you really think all this time I didn’t know? I knew, but I never admitted it to myself, because I loved you and refused to believe you could be some sort of killer.”

  I sat beside her. “Net, I—”

  “No. I don’t want to hear whatever lie you’re about to tell me. Please don’t insult my intelligence. Did you have anything to do with Papa’s death?”

  “He fell and hit his head.”

  “Yes or no, Dom.”

  “No.”

  She nodded. “Thank you. Did your family?”

  I started to say no, but paused. Did they? I honestly couldn’t say for sure. What reason could they have for killing him? To bring Annetta back? If so, it had worked. Carlo could have sanctioned a hit and made it look like an accident.

  “I see,” Annetta said, clearly taking my silence as an admission. “I think you should go, Dom.”

  “I don’t want to leave you alone right now.”

  “And I can’t be around you, so we have a problem.”

  “I’ll find out if anyone from the family did it, and if they did, I’ll make them pay.”

  She shook her head and more tears leaked from her eyes. “Death. Is that your answer to everything?”

  “Net…”

  “Please leave.”

  She turned her back to me and I had no choice but to walk out. “I love you,” I said as I opened the door.

  “I love you too,” she replied. “I wish it could have been enough.”

  Heart heavy and mind full, I left and stopped at the payphone on the corner to call Carlo.

  “Hello, Dom,” he said. “I hear your wife and son came home. Glad to hear it.”

  “Thanks, me too. I’m gonna need to talk to you and Father about cutting me some slack now that Ciro is dead so I can keep her around.” What I really wanted, was out of the mob, but I knew that wouldn’t happen. Now that I’d fulfilled my promise and proved I could be a standup family man, I was hoping Father would let up a bit.

  “You know the boss isn’t gonna like that. The Durante family’s allies have been talking. They’re not so happy with the way Maurizio stepped back and let us take out Ciro’s family. There’s dissension and trust issues, and your old man is gonna want to take advantage of that. You’ve proven your capabilities, and he’ll want you to step up and take lead on this attack, too.”

  Which was exactly what I feared. “I can’t do that, Carlo. Annetta’s back physically, but I’m gonna have to work like hell to get her to trust me again. I need time with my family. Maybe I can ta
ke them on a vacation and just get out of here for a couple of weeks.”

  “I’m sure we can work something out.”

  “I’d appreciate that. Speaking of Annetta, I gotta ask you something, and I need you to be straight with me. Do you know anything about her old man’s death?”

  “Nobody requested the hit, and we’d have no reason to whack him,” Carlo replied.

  “That’s what I figured, but I know Father was pretty pissed about her leaving and I just wanted to make sure. I mean the guy was a drunk. Hit his head on the countertop. Makes sense to me.”

  “Not exactly.”

  “What do you mean, not exactly?” I asked.

  “He was clipped, but not by anyone in the family.”

  “How do you know?”

  “I have a guy who says Adamo Pelino is still in town, and has been talkin’ shit about getting back at you. The coroner’s an old friend and he told me there was bruising on her father’s torso. Looked like someone pushed him. I asked him not to release the information to the cops.”

  “Dammit.” Of course Carlo had kept a lid on the details. Last thing we needed right now was some detective snooping around. “This shit just doesn’t end.” I leaned against the phone booth and rubbed my temple, wondering if we’d ever be done with it. “Any idea what rock Adamo’s hiding under?”

  Carlo rattled off the name and address of a roach motel just out of town, then promised to send a few soldiers to meet me there. “I don’t want you going in alone, Dom. Wait for my men.”

  I promised I would and hung up the phone. Adamo Pelino. It made sense that the coward who ran would go after someone completely innocent in all this. Annetta thought this was about death, but it was more about survival. If Adamo really had stuck around and was out for revenge, he’d most likely come after her or Angel next. I sure as hell wasn’t gonna stand around and wait for that to happen.

  I made it to the motel in record time and had to wait for Carlo’s crew. By the time they showed, I’d already bribed the clerk into letting us into room two-eleven. The room was empty—just as the clerk said it would be—except for a Polaroid photo of Annetta’s father on top of the made bed.